MAY, 2006

Photoshop Madness

Bravo, folks! We got so many nice emails from last month's Photoshop Madness., we haven't even been able to read them all yet! Thank you very much for your feedback. To boil what we've learned so far:
* Everyone loves PDF tutorials
* No one likes tutorials in "chat" rooms
* No one likes tutorials in "discussion forums"
* Everyone hates spam sites (the ones with all the blinking ads!)
* Everyone loves "Photoshop Madness" In fact, we've had hundreds of emails from people wanting to get Photoshop Madness as an email newsletter. Seems they've rather have it appear in their mailboxes than have to come to the site to find it. Thank you all! Keep those cards and letters coming

Next Hot Thing: Photoshop Tennis...

The listees in the Designer CAFE have been playing some Photoshop Tennis, and some of the results have really been fun. We'd love to have you play along, but you'll have to join the The Design CAFE in order to play. This one is a lot more safe than some of the others out there because there's no spam, and your email address won't be harvested.

Photoshop Madness Book of the Month

Layer blending modes have been part of Photoshop for years, but they're not easy to understand at first glance. With clear, step-by-step instructions, an easy-to-follow format, and hundreds of full-color examples, Photoshop Blending Modes Cookbook for Digital Photographers shows you how to use blending modes to achieve a wide range of image adjustments and special effects-without first having to learn everything there is to know about Photoshop.

John tips us on another tutorial from the book that you can download in PDF format: Ultrawide Sharpening & Vibrant MixPDF Format Tutorial

May is for Mothers...

Sophisticated Ladies . . . Just in time for Mother's day, we discover this wonderful collection of 7 brushes of very fashionable women from the 1930s. This Photoshop Brush Set is from Kirsty who operates Photoshop brush/Stock Photography site containing close to 40 brush sets and a growing selection of free Stock photos. She started the site in 2004, with all original brushes for Photoshop 7 and higher. She has lots of other cool things on her low-bandwidth (NO SPAM) web site. Here are some very Sophisticated Ladies

Web Site of the Month: Custom Shapes and Layer Styles

The benefits of using custom shapes for smaller work are the ability to scale losslessly and to experiment with colour and effects by way of saved layer styles. This tutorial, from Cian Walsh, is for Photoshop users who want to dig custom shapes in Photoshop -- and pick up a few tips on using custom shapes when combined with layer styles. Cian is a 28 year old Irishman who has worked for a number of years as a Graphic Designer, Web Designer and a Production Director. For the trivia buffs, his name is pronounced "Key-en" meaning "ancient" or "the one who lives long" in Gaelic. Custom Shapes and Layer Styles

Shooting Photos for Mother's Day

Long time favorite Photoshop Guru and Photoshop world celebrity Ben Long shows you how to maximize your Low-Light Photography results... Ben sez? [Quote] From a photography point of view, there's nothing better than that fantastic, late afternoon "magic hour" light when everything turns golden and contrasty. Or is there? While it's easy to be a daytime chauvanist when you're looking for photographic subject matter, it's important not to forget that because of the low-light capabilities of your digital camera, shooting in the dark is an important opportunity not to be missed. Long-exposure, low-light photography can reveal subject matter that would be boring in regular light. We agree Read the Tutorial

Question of the Month: Scan Backgrounds

A reader from Tasmania (supposedly) writes with this question:

> symptoms = I have scanned an old piece of
> blank parchment as a background.
> I also scanned a live plant in and using grayscale,
> photocopy and graphic pen made it look like a
> botanists drawing.
> I would like to import the 'drawn' plant onto the
> parchment so it looks like an old drawing.
> I cannot use the magic wand to get rid of the white
> background on the plant as there is too much shading
> to get around. Is there some way of selecting
> the white background and changing it to transparent?
> Sorry to be vague, I'm only new at this!
> Mac OSX, Photoshop CS

Answer: Several blending modes will make the white go away. First try "Multiply" ... Color and Darken should do the same. Experiment. You may like some results better than others.

Video Tutorial of the Month: Grassy Field

One of the most underappreciated tools for beginners in Photoshop is the brush tool. Most beginners think that this tool is simply used to paint round or square strokes onto the canvas. These same beginners would be shocked to learn that you can very easily create an entire field of grass using only the brush tool. In this tutorial, Craig Campbell from LearnFlash.com will show you how to use brush shapes and brush dynamics to create your own grassy meadow in Photoshop.

Visual BURST of LIGHT

Spalatelu Andrei sends in this month's amateur Photoshop tutorial (full w/pictorial), which has been requested many times. The burst effect -- In this tutorial you will learn how to make a burst tutorial to a text. Call it: burst,effect Effects, tips, tricks to create a Visual BURST of LIGHT

WARNING: Photoshop PROS

There is a web page where Photoshop Pros can register to get recognition in this column. Lately however, we've been getting everything BUT Photoshop pros -- from nasty teen sites to online gambling casinos, everyone thinks they are a Photoshop Pro. But those low-lifes, we know how to deal with. For you Photoshop Pros out there who would register, you MUST fill out the form and provide the information it asks for. If you don't, your submission will be tossed in the bit bucket. DO NOT WASTE OUR TIME putting in your name and your web site address and nothing else. If you do, we know you're not a pro.Real Photoshop Pros Register Here

Oh Pleeeze, Photoshop Me

There are a number of ways you can get your favorite Photoshop resource mentioned in Photoshop Madness... visit our tutorial submission page (anonymous or not!) or just slip me a note at my contact page.

Next Month: JUNE HOT SUMMER

We'd like to hear from you folks to see what kind of goodies YOU can come up with. Go here
and send us your favorite tutorials! Remember everyone loves Photoshop Madness

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About The Design & Publishing Center: First established in 1994 to provide an online web site for DT&G Zine. DT&G was originally published each month on AOL and Compuserve for attendees of Fred Showker's design and publishing seminar and conference appearances. Click here to contact us DT&G welcomes your articles, comments and contributions. This is a Spam-Free web site. Help support a healthier Spam-free environment! Please read our Legal Trademark Notice & Copyright Notices. The Design & Publishing Center is owned by Showker Graphic Arts & Design, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, established in 1972 -- 540-433-8402. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Copyright 1994 - 2006 Showker, Inc.